Cockpit laptop monitor

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Battery ran down.

People's attitudes towards this vary, of course, so to each his own.

For me, using consumer electronics for critical navigation functions involving the safety of the vessel is just wrong. What if you drop it? What if it crashes? What if a wave splashes inside the waterproof case just when you've cracked it to thread a cable through or something? What if you can't see it in bright sunlight just when you really need it? What if the battery runs down? Having a backup mitigates most of these, but still -- not on my boat!

Why would your battery run down when one of these $18 (shipping included) portable battery backup/rechargers can be had? We have three onboard for ipads and iphones, it'll keep an ipad going for 14 hours and will recharge an iphone four times.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Why would your battery run down when one of these $17 (shipping included) portable battery backup/rechargers can be had? We have three onboard for ipads and iphones, it'll keep an ipad going for 14 hours and will recharge an iphone four times.

Hot tip -- I need one of those for my Sony tablet. Thanks. I have been struggling with figuring out a way to charge it under my sprayhood.

On long passages, especially in cold weather, I really love being able to keep an eye on things (including the radar!) from under the spray hood using the tablet.

But would I rely on that contraption, now with all kinds of non-waterproof, fragile, consumer grade cables, and more non-waterproof devices, as primary navigation? Not on my boat!

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Ray Perry

Hi Paul L,

The reason I want to use an external monitor is the viewing size on the Furuno is too small for comfort. Knowing what I know now I would definitely have purchased the larger screen model.

I suggest you check eBay "sold" listings for your current model to see what the going price is. I've done some very nice upgrades for very little money by selling on eBay and buying closeouts on new "old" stock or lightly worn used.

Here's a tip: Bundles fetch lower overall prices than if you part-out components and sell the bits and pieces. That's because buyers who already own the system often need just one component to replace one that failed or was damaged. For example, I sold a 10-year-old Raymarine radar system by selling the head, cable, and antenna scanner separately. I replaced them with a new Lowrance/B&G broadband radar system that was on close-out from Defender because they were discontinued models. My total upgrade cost netted out under $400. In another scenario I sold an EPIRB for a very good price that was 12 years old and had an expired battery, because the buyer wanted the hydrostatic release case (he told me I should keep the EPIRB).


Often the replacement parts aren't available anymore, or are very expensive from the maker, and people aren't ready to replace and rewire.

[Delancey]

Battery ran down sounds like user error especially when you get low battery warnings at 20% and 10% and bashing these "consumer" electronics because they have cables or because the battery ran down doesn't make much sense either when "non-consumer" electronics, whatever they are, can run out of battery and have cables too. But hey, if they're simply not your preference that's cool too.

I do agree on the critical nature of the task which is why I have redundancy with my iPads. Also keep a cell phone with a nav app EMP protected in my ditch bag. Then of course I always have paper charts in one form or another laying around.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Hot tip -- I need one of those for my Sony tablet. Thanks. I have been struggling with figuring out a way to charge it under my sprayhood.

On long passages, especially in cold weather, I really love being able to keep an eye on things (including the radar!) from under the spray hood using the tablet.

But would I rely on that contraption, now with all kinds of non-waterproof, fragile, consumer grade cables, and more non-waterproof devices, as primary navigation? Not on my boat!

They're only $17..... buy a half dozen of them if you're worried, but two is sufficient. Did you see the earlier photo of my wife in the stormy cockpit? The ipad is fine in those conditions with a good waterproof case.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by forsbpe

When charging a LA battery the internal resistance gives approximately 1% of the amperage in the bank as losses, so if you have a bank of 500Ah, to overcome the internal resistance you need 5A charging, especially when relying on solarpanels with relatively low current this becomes an issue.

Sigh! No such thing as "amperage in the bank"

Your statement is completely false. Bank size has NO effect on charge efficiency. The only relevant factors are voltage, temperature and chemistry/composition (including SOC variations).

You appear to have totally misunderstood a basic fact.

I imagine that you have read and misinterpreted somewhere that the internal resistance of a LA battery results in approximately 1% of the amperage of the charge source being "lost".

[sailorF54]

Originally Posted by StuM

I've heard of a few cases of iPads overheating and shutting down when running a nav app - but more commonly when out in the sun, not at night.

From my own experience, I can confirm that, specially when the Ipad is in a waterproof enclosure

[Delancey]

I know no one ever actually does it but these things come with warnings and if you read them it says not to leave it in direct sunlight. Fwiw we have a pair of white sunbrella cockpit bags where the iPads get stored when not in hand.

[Steven UK]

Not sure if this would be useful or not, it's certainly cheap....

Pyle PLMRM71W (PLMRM71W) Marine Grade Water Proof IPX7 7'' LCD Wide-Screen Monitor with Anti-Glare Shield & Universal Stand - White at Onlinecarstereo.com

[petter5]

resolution Resolution: 800 x 400 :-( not at that price.

Originally Posted by Steven UK

Not sure if this would be useful or not, it's certainly cheap....

Pyle PLMRM71W (PLMRM71W) Marine Grade Water Proof IPX7 7'' LCD Wide-Screen Monitor with Anti-Glare Shield & Universal Stand - White at Onlinecarstereo.com

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Delancey

I know no one ever actually does it but these things come with warnings and if you read them it says not to leave it in direct sunlight. Fwiw we have a pair of white sunbrella cockpit bags where the iPads get stored when not in hand.

They will overheat and shut down.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

They're only $17..... buy a half dozen of them if you're worried, but two is sufficient. Did you see the earlier photo of my wife in the stormy cockpit? The ipad is fine in those conditions with a good waterproof case.

I have a Sony Z2 which is waterproof without a case.

But it is still fragile (I smashed the screen last summer ), and you can't charge it without opening it to water intrusion.

I use it and love it under the sprayhood.

I am glad you're happy with these things as primary navigation -- to each his own.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

They will overheat and shut down.

Yes, that is what the warnings say. So if you leave it in the sun and it shuts down it is user error same as when you let the battery down. That was user error.

Like I said I made white sunbrella cockpit bags to store them in and keep them protected. No problems. Have two so one is always down below on a charger while the other is in use. No problems. Cell phone with app EMP protected in a ditch bag. No problems.

So what happens when your "non-consumer" navigation electronics get fried by a lightning strike? I've been there and done that which is why I now have like quadruple redundancy.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I have a Sony Z2 which is waterproof without a case.

But it is still fragile (I smashed the screen last summer ), and you can't charge it without opening it to water intrusion.

I use it and love it under the sprayhood.

I am glad you're happy with these things as primary navigation -- to each his own.

Six years, seven summers and our three ipads have never let us down or turned off due to being left in the sun (we don't leave them in the sun). We have mesh pockets built into the sprayhood.

BUT our brand new marine grade Vesper Watchmate Vision $hit the bed only 70 hours into it's first season, and left us without an AIS transponder for three months (and it was mounted indoors). I've also dropped the ipads on several occasions with them being enclosed in the Lifeproof nuud waterproof cases. No issues, no shattered screen.

Was your tablet wearing a Lifeproof case?

I don't understand how or why you extrapolate your experience with your Sony tablet to ipads which are manufactured to what seems to be a higher standard of reliability (judging by your experience) and expect an unprotected tablet to resist being broken when dropped the same as one enclosed in a drop protection/waterproof/floating case.

It seems to me that you purchased the wrong tablet. Was the Sony much cheaper than the top end ipad? We've always purchased the best high end cellular model ipad available at the time. The Lifeproof case adds another $100.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Six years, seven summers and our three ipads have never let us down or turned off due to being left in the sun (we don't leave them in the sun). We have mesh pockets built into the sprayhood.

BUT our brand new marine grade Vesper Watchmate Vision $hit the bed only 70 hours into it's first season, and left us without an AIS transponder for three months. I've also dropped the ipads on several occasions with them being enclosed in the Lifeproof nuud waterproof cases. No issues, no shattered screen.

Was your tablet wearing a Lifeproof case?

I don't understand how or why you extrapolate your experience with your Sony tablet to ipads which are manufactured to what seems to be a higher standard of reliability (judging by your experience) and expect an unprotected tablet to resist being broken when dropped the same as one enclosed in a drop protection/waterproof/floating case.

I think you could also argue that iPads (which are built for consumers who routinely very abusive of their products) have undergone a significantly higher dollar amount of investement in their development than just about any other product out there. There is a billion dollar market for these products. What's the market for "non-consumer" nav equipment? A lot smaller!